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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported) May 11, 1999
(May 6, 1999)
WESTERN RESOURCES, INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
KANSAS 1-3523 48-0290150
(State or Other Jurisdiction of (Commission (Employer
Incorporation or Organization) File Number) Identification No.)
818 KANSAS AVENUE, TOPEKA, KANSAS 66612
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's Telephone Number Including Area Code (785) 575-6300
WESTERN RESOURCES, INC.
Item 5. Other Events
Western Resources herein files the following:
Exhibit 99.1 - Press release and employee update issued on May 6, 1999:
Western Resources and KCPL Reach Merger Settlement With KCC Staff and Others
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by
the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
Western Resources, Inc.
Date May 11, 1999 By /s/ William B. Moore
William B. Moore, Executive Vice
President, Chief Financial
Officer and Treasurer
Exhibit 99.1
WESTERN RESOURCES AND KCPL REACH MERGER SETTLEMENT
WITH KCC STAFF AND OTHERS
Western Resources today announced a Stipulation and Agreement had been
reached with the Kansas Corporation Commission Staff, resulting in a proposed
set of recommendations for settlement in the company's merger with Kansas City
Power & Light. The agreement has been filed with the Kansas Corporation
Commission (KCC) for its review.
In addition to Western Resources, KCPL, and the Corporation Commission
Staff, the City of Topeka has agreed to, and the International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers, local 304, supports the following recommendations and
stipulations:
- There will be an electric rate moratorium of four years beginning on
the date the transaction closes.
- The companies will be allowed to include $300 million of the
acquisition premium associated with the merger in the Kansas rate base of
Westar Energy (the entity to be created by Western Resources' and KCPL's
regulated electric utility operations), as well as the amortization of the
$300 million in acquisition premium grossed up for state and federal taxes and
ratemaking purposes. For regulatory purposes, the acquisition premium is to be
amortized over a 36-year period beginning four years after the closing of the
transaction.
- Western Resources and KCPL will be allowed to earn a deferred return
of 9.5% on already planned, new generating plant additions, which are expected
to be approximately $330 million. This return would commence when the new
additions begin commercial operation and conclude when they are put into
rates, but no later than March 31, 2004. These plant additions include Western
Resources' Gordon Evans combustion turbines, as well as its participation in
the State Line Combined Cycle project with Empire District, and the Kansas
jurisdictional component of KCPL's Hawthorn units 7, 8 and 9.
- Westar Energy will make three rebates in the amount of $15 million
each to its Kansas retail customers on July 1 of the years 2001, 2002 and
2003. The allocation of rebates between KPL, KGE and KCPL Kansas retail
customers will be determined by the KCC in a separate, future docket.
- Western Resources agrees to keep its corporate headquarters in Topeka,
Kansas. At closing of the merger, Westar Energy's corporate headquarters will
be in Kansas City.
Western Resources believes the terms of this settlement constitute a
fair and reasonable resolution of issues arising from its merger filing and
that the merger is in the public's interest. The next step will be for the KCC
Commissioners to review the Stipulation and Agreement and issue an order based
on the agreement and the results of the technical hearings, which are in
progress.
Forward-Looking Statements: Certain matters discussed in this press
release/employee update are "forward-looking statements." The Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 has established that these statements
qualify for safe harbors from liability. Forward-looking statements may
include words like we "believe", "anticipate," "expect" or words of similar
meaning. Forward-looking statements describe our future plans, objectives,
expectations, or goals. Such statements address future events and conditions
concerning capital expenditures, earnings, litigation, rate and other
regulatory matters, possible corporate restructurings, mergers, acquisitions,
dispositions, liquidity and capital resources, interest and dividend rates,
environmental matters, changing weather, nuclear operations, and accounting
matters. What happens in each case could vary materially from what we expect
because of such things as electric utility deregulation, including ongoing
state and federal activities; future economic conditions; legislative
developments; regulatory and competitive markets; volatility in wholesale
power markets, and other circumstances affecting anticipated operations,
revenues and costs. See the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for further
discussion of factors affecting the company's performance.